About the Simple Things
by Kaori-chan2
Summary: NxL future-fic: It was easy going from friends to lovers, but trying to make a relationship work through the different scary phases is so much harder than they thought. Update Ch. 5: In which Natsu realizes why he loves her.
1. The Thing with Wanting More

AN: I've lost all my notes for Enchanted. I am so sorry, but without them I won't ever be able to finish it, since… well, I kind of forgot what that mission was. I'm so stupid, I know.

But as an apology, I decided to smother you with a fanfic that will make all your NaLu-fangirl-fantasies come true. Basically, it's just me being in hyper-fangirl-mode, since I was curious about how Natsu and Lucy would act in a serious relationship that leads somewhere. I'm getting bored with all those cliché get-together fics, so I'm gonna try and approach this in a more realistic way that I feel is more like them.

Emphasis on try. But hey, enjoy and I hope everyone will forgive me for not continuing Enchanted. Maybe you'd like to take a look here: .com for more NaLu-stuff.

Disclaimer: Not mine. Since I'm not Hiro Mashima, as you might've noticed.

**About the Small Things**

**Chapter 1: **The Thing with Wanting More

- In which there's an almost kiss and a dive into a river -

Trying to kiss her had definitely _not_ been such a good idea.

Natsu flinched as a soaked Lucy furiously kicked the door to her apartment open so violently that it banged loudly against the wall, reminding him of how freakishly strong that girl could get when she was majorly pissed off. Lucy vanished inside, snorting dangerously and bristling with anger, just before the door sprung back from the impact and Natsu barely managed to squeeze his fingers in between before it could close entirely. Well, not that a closed door had ever stopped him from getting into Lucy's apartment, but he figured that he shouldn't anger the girl more than he already had.

"C'mon, Luce," he whined as he closed the door behind him. "I said I was sorry."

Lucy spun around, glaring viciously at him with fiery cheeks. "Sorry, my ass! I could've _died_!"

Natsu lowered his head a bit, gazing up apologetically. "I'm really, really sorry."

He had definitely not thought this through. But then again, he wasn't exactly sure what he expected. Trying to kiss her had been a pretty stupid move either way, completely spontaneously and utterly reckless. And his timing had been awful, too. What idiot tries to kiss his teammate and reputedly best friend when she's focused on balancing on the way too narrow border of Magnolia's river?

Of course it would totally scare her. Natsu sighed. _Idiot, idiot, idiot._

He vaguely remembered how pretty she had looked when the moonlight gently caressed her frame, and suddenly he'd wanted to caress it, too. Natsu didn't even think about how weird it would be and how inappropriate it was (she _was_ his nakama), it just felt so right in that moment, to reach out and touch her hips. He'd been so captivated by her that he just barely realized how her eyes widened in confusion as he leaned in until their noses touched.

Only that he never had the chance to test if her lips were as soft and sweet as they looked, since Lucy gave a shocked yelp and… Well. She kind of fell backwards into the river. Her clinging to Natsu's shirt didn't help either, it just served to get them both soaked. Thankfully, Natsu was a flame mage and could dry in a split second.

But well, Lucy wasn't. And she hated that fact even more when she suddenly sneezed. The summoner scowled dangerously, sniffing as she spoke, or rather ranted. "Oh great, now I'll get sick. Thank you _very_ much, you idiot!"

"I offered to dry you," Natsu mumbled sheepishly, tucking his hands in his pockets as he followed her to the bathroom.

"I told you that I don't _want_ you to dry me," she spat, squeezing the water out of a bunch of her hair over the washbowl. "And you know how I hate to repeat myself. I _hate_ to repeat myself!"

Natsu gave a nervous chuckle. "Err, just did, Luce." The blonde summoner shot him a glare so deadly that for a second she could have passed for Erza, and he suddenly felt cold sweat on his forehead. "N-no, you didn't, I really don't know why I said that."

Lucy gave an exasperated sigh, resuming squeezing water out of her blonde locks. "Damn you for drying so quickly. You should be soaked and sneezing, too."

She glanced over at Natsu from the corners of her eyes, her features relaxing to a more calm face when she saw him looking down at the ground miserably. Somehow, she felt bad. The guy was really sorry for something he shouldn't be sorry for. After all, it had been her own fault that she fell into the river. And not only that, she had pulled Natsu with her, yet he didn't mind at all.

Actually, Lucy wasn't sure exactly why she was so damn mad at him. But maybe, she thought, she wasn't really mad but simply too shocked and embarrassed to act normal around him after he'd almost… Her face immediately flushed a deep shade of crimson at the memory.

Natsu had tried to kiss her.

It hadn't been just one of those moments like in romantic novels where there's that certain silence before the guy would lean in. He'd been so close that when she yelped her lower lip had actually _brushed_ his upper lip. He had almost kissed her. And not just a friendly peck, his lips had been parted, ready to kiss her like a man kissed a woman. Not like a friend kissed a friend. Lucy was so confused, so incredibly bewildered and disarranged. She just didn't know what to do with that, desperately trying to figure out what it meant.

Did he have feelings for her? And what if he did? She was painfully reminded of that incident with Mirajane where she had playfully suggested Natsu might be interested in her in a more romantic way. Lucy had been just as shocked and self-conscious then, but she had not completely hated the idea of him maybe being in love with her.

Heck, that guy had her heart pounding rapidly back then. Though at that time, she had prepared herself to reject him, because hey, they were nakama, for God's sake. Much to her surprise, she wasn't so sure if she was going to reject him _this_ time, nakama or not. If he had feelings, that is. Which she wasn't entirely sure about. Just like about her own feelings.

She wiped her forehead and sighed, eyes shut in exasperation. _Why does he keep doing this to me?_

Lucy was so busy sorting her thoughts that the pattering sound of water when her shower was turned on caught her completely by surprise. She whirled around in bewilderment, eyebrows knitting up to a blank frown when she saw Natsu standing under the jet of water, fully dressed and steaming where the cold water touched his fiery skin.

She gawked in disbelief. "What the _hell_ are you doing, you idiot!?"

"Getting soaked," he said matter-of-factly. "You're right. It's not fair that you're the only one getting sick when it's my fault that you fell in the river to begin with."

Lucy groaned in irritation as she grabbed for his soaked shirt and roughly pulled him out of her shower. "Listen, it's _not_ your fault," she said forcefully, turning away from the dripping Natsu to snatch a towel from the shelf. "I slipped. My fault. Okay?"

Natsu furrowed his brows when the girl started to wipe his hair with the soft towel, feeling strangely contented with her hands massaging his head. "Then why are you so mad, Luce?"

"W-well," she mumbled, unable to avoid the small tremor in her voice as she looked down to his feet, her cheeks flushing. "Because…"

Nodding in realization, Natsu looked away, eyes narrowing in embarrassment. Right. She was mad because of _that_. The almost-kiss. Oddly, the thought of her being mad because of something like that hurt really badly. More than he would have ever thought it would.

"Would you've hated it that much?"

Lucy's head shot up in bewilderment, eyes widening when she saw how close he actually was. Almost without realizing it, her hands paused from her slightly rough massage on his head. "What?"

She felt her heart skip a beat at the handsomely serious look on his face. "Would it have been so bad? Did the thought of me kissing you scare you so much that you preferred making a dive into cold water?"

"I…" she heard herself utter very hoarsely.

She was at a loss for words, shocked at how he had no qualms to say such a thing so bluntly. Her mouth was dry, lips parting for words that just wouldn't come out. His curious eyes seemed to pierce right through her, making her heart thump twice as fast and her face heat up even more. Normally, she would have hit him. But there was something about him right now that hadn't been there before. Something she just couldn't put her finger on.

But then, she suddenly realized what was different. Nothing about Natsu changed. It was something about _her_ that changed. Something about the way she looked at him, so painfully different from before. Affectionately, warmer, almost longingly.

Because throughout the time slowly, very leisurely, he had somehow managed to make her to look at him like a woman looked at a man.

Biting her lower lip, Lucy let her hands sink down, towel still loosely hanging from Natsu's head as he knitted his eyebrows at her. She was trembling, were it because of the cold or because of his presence, or even both. She felt all the tiny hairs on her arms rising upwards at the feeling of his hot breath against her face, once again realizing how damn close he was and how she wouldn't mind at all if he just…

Lucy had no idea if it was the steam in the bathroom clouding her mind or if she just simply lost it, but something inside of her urged to make a big step. A step that could ruin everything forever - or make it better than before.

Reaching out her hands to wrap them around his waist, she took the small step parting them, making their soaked bodies touch in a way that send tiny sparkles through her veins. Even if she was focusing her stare on the pattern of his shirt, cheeks burning fervently, she knew what expression there was on Natsu's face, knew that his eyes widened, felt his body heating up in her arms just a bit more.

The only sounds were the shower in the background and her heart beating loudly in her ears.

Then came his voice, very throaty and un-Natsu-like. "… Luce?"

"If it's you," she whispered against his shirt, cloudy chocolate eyes peeking up at him from beneath golden hair, "If It's you, I couldn't ever be scared of anything."

She could've sworn that her heart and time itself just stopped for an incredible moment. Natsu's expression was odd; something between embarrassment and disbelief, and it would've almost looked comical if the tension wasn't so thick. Lucy on the other hand couldn't even control her features anymore. She was sure he could read her just from the look in her eyes.

That she still somehow, vaguely, found the strength to open her mouth almost surprised her. "You know, Natsu." She tilted her head upwards, her breath roaming across his neck as she spoke. "There's no river in here."

And then just like that, their faces were only inches apart, and Lucy thought that somewhere under that solemn expression of his there was a tiny smile hidden in the corners of his mouth, a glint in his eyes that had her shiver in anticipation. Then she felt his calloused hands, branded by countless fights, lightly touching her arms, more careful than she ever thought he could be.

"There sure isn't," he murmured, licking his lips as he tucked a loose golden lock behind her ear.

His hands cupped her face gently, but when his nose brushed against hers there wasn't shock this time – instead it took her breath away, the way he kept their gazes locked as he moved closer inch by inch. When there were only a few tiny millimeter left, Natsu hesitated for a moment; one moment too long for her taste.

Not being able to take the torture of his lips being right there but not touching her, Lucy grabbed the wet fabric of his shirt and forced him to take the last step rougher than intended, their lips crashing together rather painfully.

Almost at the same time, they broke away from each other, cursing, making sounds of pain and holding their mouths. Lucy vaguely wondered if this was the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to her; but then she remembered being called ugly by Evaroo and dismissed it. Still, it was at the very top of her list, which was just one of the many reasons her face was burning crimson. She was just about to wish that earth would swallow her right now when Natsu suddenly burst out laughing hoarsely.

"Jeez, Luce. You're really something," he managed to say between chuckles, one hand still on his mouth. "That was the worst first kiss ever."

Lucy felt her face heat up even more until she was scared it would maybe explode or something. "Sh-shut up! It's your own fault," she sputtered in offence. "You were taking so damn long that I _had_ to do something."

Natsu grinned widely at her. "Thank God you did that. I was really nervous before, but you broke the ice."

She glanced up at him sheepishly, hesitantly touching his mouth. "Does it hurt?"

"I don't _care_," whispered Natsu, taking her hand away to free his lips.

Lucy had barely time to widen her eyes as he leaned down to her level once more, this time not hesitating even one bit as he sealed his lips over hers. Sighing in relief at finally feeling the sensation of his mouth pressed against hers, Lucy raised her arms to touch his face, feeling him grabbing her waist to bring her closer, until there was no more room left between them and even then he couldn't seem to get enough.

She was overwhelmed by a sudden burst of warmth spreading through her whole body, unable to form even one real thought as his raw lips moved over hers. Her mind was clouded and very unclear, she only knew that he was the one single thing that mattered right now, and soon her body took over, leaving rationality behind when she opened his mouth for his tongue to dive in, feeling his grip tighten on her.

From then on, things seemed to heat up rather quickly, involving a lot of sucking, gentle biting, teeth clanging together from time to time and desperate clutching for something to hold onto. Hands wandering to delicate places, eliciting moans or grunts, and somewhere along he slipped his hands under her bottom, picking her up and pushing her up against the next best wall. Clothes came off in the blink of an eye and soon soaked, cool flesh smacked together, heating up in an instant. Somehow, they landed on the cold floor, naked and yearning to feel more, feel everything they had to give.

Engulfed by a wonderfully new heat, they gave reign to their instincts, groans and screams of pleasure filling the air as a friendship withered to bloom into so much more.

**tbc**


	2. The Thing with Becoming Lovers

AN: See that? I'm really fast actually, when I don't lose my notes. I think I'll be able to finish this story rather quickly if I can keep this up, which I think might not be that hard, since I just love the plot of this. My inner fangirl is just way too much into this story, it's like I can't stop writing it. (I'm actually already at chapter five, but it'd be boring if I updated every day.)

On another note, Natsu and Lucy may both be a little OOC in this story. But I guess that's unavoidable since they're not cannon yet, so please bear with me.

Disclaimer: Not mine. Because I'm certainly not Hiro Mashima, as you might've noticed.

**About the Simple Things**

**Chapter 2: **The Thing with Becoming Lovers

- In which there's a symbolic shirt and some magic -

Lucy woke up when she felt a stir in her bed. She drowsily opened her eyes just a bit as the blanket was carefully folded back, vaguely feeling her bed becoming a little lighter than before. There was a pressure on that one plank of her parquet floor that creaked, waking her up entirely as she opened her eyes all the way. Her vision still blurred from sleep, she could only dimly make out Natsu's silhouette, watching in fatigued confusion as he slipped in his pants.

Leisurely sitting up in the bed and rubbing over her eyes, she murmured huskily, "Natsu?"

He flinched a little, turning around to her with an apologetic grin. "Sorry. Did I wake you?"

Her mind started to clear up bit by bit and Lucy was finally able to realize that she was still naked. Not feeling comfortable with that yet, she quickly covered her breasts with the covers, cheeks coloring a pale shade of pink. She caught Natsu smirking at her actions and scowled half-heartedly at him.

"It's okay," she said.

"I carried you to the bed," he told her with a muffled voice as he wrapped his scarf around his neck, which looked oddly sexy since he was still not wearing a shirt; Lucy quickly stopped herself from drooling. "You fell asleep on the bathroom floor right after we were done."

And suddenly, Lucy's eyes widened, feeling that unpleasant heat creep to her cheeks as all the pieces of the past night came flooding back to her, rushing through her mind with threefold sonic speed; Natsu on top of her, naked, cheeks flushed, his sweaty body pressed against hers, kissing her, sucking and licking, moving, pushing, fast, hard, and _oh_ _God_.

_I had sex with Natsu_, she thought appalled. With Natsu, her best friend, of all people. What had she been thinking?

No, right. She hadn't been thinking at all. There had been something magically seductive about him last night, making it unable for her to resist. Even now when she looked at him, it was impossible to see him as Natsu, her silly teammate, because somehow she only ever saw Natsu, the sex god. And the dim moonlight shining through her window directly on his toned muscles didn't really help her state either, if anything it only made it worse.

Lucy didn't even notice that she was gazing longingly at him, until Natsu caught her stare and gave a smug grin, reading her thoughts. She quickly shook her head, looking away with fiery cheeks and nervously playing with the sheets as she cleared her throat.

"Um, so… we kinda…"

"Yup," Natsu said nonchalantly, taking off his scarf again. "Shit, it's not dry yet."

Lucy blinked at him, thoroughly baffled. Did that guy not care at all? Feeling a small sting in her chest at his indifferent reaction, she lowered her head so he wouldn't see how disappointed she was. "Then dry it. You're a fire-mage, idiot."

"Can't do that. What if I burn it by accident? It's too important," he said, tying it around his waist instead.

_More important than me?_ she wanted to ask, but didn't. Really, she completely understood that Igneel's scarf meant a lot to him, but they had just been really intimate with each other, the most intimate you can possibly get, and yet… He didn't seem to be affected by it at all.

She bit her lower lip, brows knitting up. "You going home or something?"

Natsu blinked at her, confused by her quiet voice. "Err, yup. You know, it's probably for the best if I'm there before Happy wakes up. He'll only get worried."

"Ah," was all she managed to say.

"And also, I heard Erza telling Mira that she wanted to stop by your place in the morning. It'd be bad if she saw me here."

Lucy narrowed her eyes, looking down at the sheets. "Yeah," she murmured silently.

Natsu cracked a grin. "So, I'll just go grab my shirt and I'm outta here," he said rather cheerfully, turning around. "I think I left it in the bathroom."

"Is that it?" she heard herself utter, unable to avoid the tremor in her voice.

He spun around in bewilderment, puzzled eyes focused on her flock of golden hair that she had lowered. "… What?"

Her hand closed to a trembling fist as she wrapped her other one around her wrist, squeezing it tightly as she bit her lower lip. Shit, her eyes were starting burn with that painful sensation she desperately tried to suppress. No tears, not here, not now, not in front of him. Not because of something like this. It hurt; yes it really hurt, seeing him so untouched by everything they had shared the past few hours. But she absolutely must not cry.

Because he was not like that. She kept telling herself that. Natsu was not like that.

"You wouldn't do that," she whispered, looking up at him through glassy eyes, a sad smile gracing her face. "Right? You're Natsu. You wouldn't do that to me. You wouldn't do those things if you didn't mean them. You wouldn't pretend nothing special happened."

Natsu's expression was suddenly as solemn as it was the night before, when he had kissed her. "Luce, what are you talking about?"

"You're Natsu," she said once more, forcefully, almost desperate; vaguely wondering if she was really just trying to tell herself all those things. "You wouldn't do that. I mean too much to you. We were too good friends for you to thoughtlessly ruin everything. You wouldn't have ended our friendship just because you were horny."

"I haven't ended our friendship," he said, blankly staring back at her, suddenly feeling a strange sort of fear welling up inside of him. "I'd never do that."

"But you did," said Lucy, smiling sadly at him. "Don't you know, Natsu? We can't be friends anymore after so much happened between us. There's no way we can act like nothing changed. Because everything has."

Natsu was giving her a look so insecure, so uncomprehending and intimidated that she was unable to hold his gaze, looking down at her hands instead that gripped the sheets tightly. And yet, her mouth just wouldn't stop moving and the words just didn't stop pouring out. She couldn't even do anything against it.

"For me anyway, a lot changed. I can't be friends with you anymore, Natsu," she said quietly, somehow finding the courage to look up. "I – I wanna be more. I wanna be more than friends."

What was she saying? What on earth was she saying? Had she actually implied, _claimed_ even, that she wanted a relationship? With Natsu. Natsu, her friend, her teammate; and sex god? It was stupid, and irrational and obviously so not what he wanted to hear. Insecurely, she studied his features, trying to name his expression, but she couldn't. His face was totally unreadable this time and for a moment, Lucy thought that the world would shatter to pieces in front of her.

But then, Natsu surprised her with a reaction she had never bargained for: It started with a little twitching around his mouth, and soon he was grinning at her in utter disbelief, like she just said something incredibly hilarious and foolish. Lucy was so shocked for a second that she couldn't move, let alone say anything, her mouth just hanging open in bafflement.

He let out a small laugh, running a hand through his hair. "You're a freak, Luce." He just couldn't believe how dense the girl could be sometimes.

_We're more already, idiot_, he thought as he turned to head for the bathroom without another word, leaving the blonde and her state of utter shock alone for a moment.

"What the…" Lucy barely managed to whisper when she found her voice, watching in some sort of dumbstruck daze as Natsu returned just a few heartbeats later, holding his shirt and looking quite pleased.

"Ah good, it's dry," he said rather blithely, smirking at the dumbfounded girl before him as he held the fabric out to her. "Here, put this on. You're gonna catch a cold."

Lucy finally seemed to snap out of her shock, knitting her brows at him for a disappointed scowl and then slapped his outstretched hand away quite violently. "What the hell is this, Natsu? Some fucked-up sort of apology?"

Natsu groaned in exasperation, rolling his eyes. "Just put it on, weirdo," he said rougher than intended, throwing his shirt at her. "And move over, will ya. I'm sleepy now."

Now he had lost her completely. Was that guy plain dumb or did he just need a little encouragement so he would actually shake a leg? Either way, she could only gawk at him in pure bewilderment as he proceeded to take off his scarf and pants, presenting her once again his flame-patterned boxers. Lucy couldn't explain why, but something about this situation had such a paradoxically feeling of security and warmth about it that it made her blush a bit as she squeezed her head through his shirt.

That feeling increased when she was engulfed by his comforting scent the shirt was emitting, serving to let her cheeks burn even more. "You're much weirder than me, super-weirdo."

Natsu grinned at her as she slowly shifted over in her bed to give him some space. Grabbing the cover, he quickly slipped beneath, giving a small sigh as he crossed his arms under his head with closed eyes. As he felt her stare practically scanning him, he cracked one eye open, smirking when he saw her still puzzled looking expression.

"Yeah?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

Lucy stared at him in disbelief. "But you said that Erza…"

Natsu shrugged his shoulders. "I'll be gone when she shows up."

"What about Happy then?"

"Eh, I guess he'll survive for another hour," he told her. Smiling smugly, he added, "Don't want me to stay?"

Lucy felt her cheeks color a slight shade of pink. "That's not what I meant…" she mumbled bashfully.

"Then come here." Natsu gave a lopsided smile, spreading one arm to make room for her to lie on his shoulder.

For some reason, she found herself thinking that this had got to be the single most romantic moment in her life. There was something magical about him right now, something she couldn't put into words. The way he was waiting for her to lie in his arms and smiling up at her with that cute grin was enough for her to lose herself in his eyes for a breathtaking moment and just smile warmly down at the picture.

"Err, Luce? My arm's starting to go to sleep," he pointed out.

Lucy surprised herself with a giggle and lay down in his arms, nestling against his shoulder and slinging an arm around his bare chest as he held her in a loose embrace. It was crazy how a simple thing like this could make her feel more content than she ever was before, comparable only to a mother's hug. She gave a relieved sigh as the fingers of his free hand grazed over her arm, pausing at the back of her hand and closing gently around it.

Natsu smiled at her, giving her a fleeting peck on her nose. "But just for another hour, okay?"

"That's more than enough," she whispered.

As she slowly drifted to sleep, Lucy thought that maybe, just maybe, completely unconsciously, they had always been a little more than friends from the very beginning.

**tbc**


	3. The Thing with the Date

AN: Looks like from here on the chapters will be longer. Damn, and I'm really trying to keep it short. I tend to write super-endlessly-long-fics, and I'm really scared that this could metamorphose into one of these. (I like to call them The Dark Era of Myself)

Anyway, for some reason I really love this chapter. It's more them now IMO.

Disclaimer: Not mine. Because I'm certainly not Hiro Mashima, as you might've noticed.

**About the Simple Things**

**Chapter 3: **The Thing with the Date

- In which there's Murphy's Law and a sprained ankle -

It wasn't surprising that Natsu had given her next to no sleep over the past few weeks, Lucy thought. She had always imagined him to be just that sort of guy, an unstoppable lover. Those weeks with him had been the most exciting and thrilling adventure of her whole life. It was something completely new; being so desired by someone that they just couldn't keep their hands off of you for even one second.

Natsu never cared about something trivial as time and places, he'd just grin at her devilishly and then find all the right spots to get her to give in to him, even if it was in Fairy Tail's toilet. She had gotten used to it by now. Whenever the others were too busy with themselves or generally not paying them much attention, they would sneak off to the basement or a cabin. There didn't pass even one day where they were not screwing each other for more than three-fourths of it.

And damn, Lucy was exhausted. No, seriously, she was really tired. Not tired of all the sex, hell no. God knew she would probably never get enough of that man and his skilled mouth. It was just that it was simply difficult for her to spend some _quiet_ time with Natsu for a change.

It was as if all about them was just strictly physical. Heck, the last time she had just simply sat next to him was probably weeks ago on a mission when he was having another fit of motion sickness.

As Lucy was standing in her kitchen this morning, pouring some fresh-made coffee in her favorite cup and biting in a marmalade sandwich, she pictured what it would be like to have breakfast with him. Just that. Really simple. He would probably say something naughty about how his shirt looked sexy on her (after he had given it to her in their first night together, it became her favorite), and she would comment how much of a pervert he could be. They would laugh together, and just share that really, really simple thing; boyfriend and girlfriend having a self-cooked breakfast.

She gave a small sigh, blowing cold air at her coffee before taking a sip. Somehow though, she didn't really feel like she was his girlfriend. Rather a sex friend. And Natsu, he had never explicitly _called_ her his girlfriend yet. Plus, their friends didn't even have a clue that there was something going on between them for weeks now.

Whatever that 'something' was, it didn't really feel very relationshippy.

Suddenly, she heard a dull banging from her living room, her parquet floor creaking beneath a pair of feet. Lucy immediately recognized the footsteps by their briskness and energy, smiling to herself around a mouthful of her sandwich. If one knew that guy for long enough, he was so predictable.

_Speak of the devil_, she thought in amusement as she turned around to greet him with her most seductive pose. Okay, she wasn't making it easy for him to resist, but he was just so much fun to tease. One heartbeat later, Natsu's salmon-colored head of messy hair poked out from the living room, grinning impishly at her as his eyes roamed over her body that it was almost insolent.

"Morning, sexy."

"And a good morning to you," she purred sweetly as he walked over to her, slinging his toned arms around her thin waist and giving her a long smooch on the lips with a comical groan. Lucy giggled, drawing small circles on his chest and batting her eyelashes at him. "So you missed me, huh?"

Natsu gave her a lopsided grin, but never answered. "You look really hot in my shirt."

Well, at least she had been right about the naughty shirt-remark before. Giving a sigh, she pursed her lips at him. "Don't do that, Natsu. I know where you're going with this."

"Yeah, so?" he murmured against her cheek as he trailed fleeting kissed down her jaw line until he was nibbling at that special spot on her neck.

Lucy was barely able to suppress a moan. "So," she said forcefully, gently wriggling herself free from his embrace. "I won't give in this time. I just got up, you know. I'm really not in the mood right now."

She almost squealed of the sheer cuteness when his lips curled up to a disappointed pout, looking like a child who just lost his favorite toy; and well, there wasn't much of a difference, really.

"But, Luuu!"

Lucy gave a quiet giggle, like always when he called her that. He would occasionally switch nicknames, calling her either Luce or just simply Lu. She was only Lucy when things got serious, but since that hadn't been the case for a while now, she didn't hear him call her by her real name for several weeks.

As she turned back to her coffee, humming something to herself, she felt his strong arms wrap around her from behind as he whined directly in her ear, "It's not fair, you know. You never had any problem with that before."

"Well, I have one now," she told him innocently. Offering a warm smile, she added, "You want some breakfast?"

"No. I want _you_," Natsu said impatiently.

Reaching the end of her endurance, she gave an exasperated groan. "Really now, Natsu. Don't you think we're past the point where we do nothing but have sex?"

Natsu gave a blank look, utter confusion written all over his face. "How can someone ever be past that point?" he asked, and Lucy could just gape at him in disbelief. "You're being really unreasonable, Luce."

For a split second, she thought that maybe he was joking. Then again, this was Natsu. "Say, are you a sex addict or something?"

Instead of taking it as an insult, Natsu actually chuckled about her remark, but then again, that was typical for him, too. Lucy gave an exhausted sigh, thinking that maybe she would have to say it straight for him to get what she really wanted. Natsu could be dull as a duck at times, completely oblivious to a girl's feelings. Of course, it wasn't intentional, and since she knew that and she knew him, she picked the easiest route: Just scare him a little.

"Listen, Natsu," she said calmly, turning around to face him. "As much as I love spending, err… time with you in bed. Or, erm, other places. Just that is not good enough."

Natsu backed away just a bit, his smile fading as a concerned frown appeared on his face. "What do you mean?"

Lucy could barely keep herself from grinning devilishly. Her little trick was working; Natsu could be so predictable. "Look, if you wanna keep spending some quality time with a cute girl like me, you should try to keep me satisfied. And not just sexually, though that's important, too."

"Erm, okay?" He seemed pretty insecure; a sight so rare that it was amusing. "So what keeps you satisfied?"

Her eyes flashed up in triumph. Now she had him right where she wanted him. "Well, for one, you could go out with me."

Natsu blinked at her in puzzlement, and then a relieved grin spread over his face. "Jeez, if it's just that! You really gave me scare here, Luce."

Lucy's face immediately lit up to a delighted grin as she clasped her hands together, more than elated. "Really? We'll go out?"

"Of course," he said as if it was the most stupid question ever. "We were gonna head to the guild either way, right? There we can hang out as much as you want."

And just like that, the girl's smile faded and turned into a scowl. Ah damn it, that guy was really hopeless sometimes. "No, you idiot! That's not what I meant," she snarled rather gruffly. "I wanna _go out_ with you."

Natsu stared back at her, still not fully grasping her hint, and she felt the nagging urge to slap him.

Rolling her eyes, she growled out, "On a _date_, you dork."

Then finally, he seemed to get on the same page as her as an odd expression plastered itself on his face. "… Oh. You want a date."

"I most certainly do," Lucy declared persistently, crossing her arms over her voluptuous chest.

"Erm. Okay, I guess."

She felt her lips curl up to a small smile. "Okay?"

"Yeah, I mean," Natsu murmured almost bashfully, scratching the back of his head, "If that's what keeps you happy, it's probably a good idea."

"Really?" Lucy beamed at him in utter delight, unable to hide her excitement. "Really, really, really?"

Slowly, a small smile crept to his lips. "Yeah. Let's go on a date."

She actually let out an elated squeal, throwing her arms around his neck in a wild hug that almost knocked him off his feet. Natsu made a small noise of surprise at first, but then hugged her back, chuckling softly at her jubilant reaction. For a moment there, he was overwhelmed at how just simply holding her like this sometimes felt so much better than going further. Normally, he would only ever hold her like this whenever he was watching her sleep.

It made Natsu think that maybe cutting down their sex live a bit wasn't such a bad thing after all. They would just go out and spend some fun time together, like back in the old days when they were still convinced they were just friends. Maybe going back to the roots could be something amazing.

Lucy gave soft laugh when she let go of him. "Sorry, I'm just so excited."

Natsu couldn't help but grin. She really was incredibly cute. "So, did you already have something planned?"

"Kinda," she admitted a bit sheepishly, grinning back at him as she fidgety played with her hair. "Leave everything to me. You just go back to your apartment and change into something more… err, date-fitting. And then you come pick me up at, let's say, 5 p.m. Okay?"

Natsu shrugged. "Sounds fine to me." More date-fitting, she said; he really would have to pull something good out of his sleeve if he wanted her to enjoy this. "Though I really think the guy should plan out the date."

Lucy cocked her head, winking at him. "There's always a next time."

"Right. I'll see you later then," he said with smirk, leaning down to give her a peck on the cheek.

"Yup. Don't be late."

"I won't, I won't," he groaned in irritation. "Jeez."

Lucy smiled in satisfaction. "Good boy."

The blonde waited until he was gone before she allowed a goofy grin to appear on her face, turning back to her coffee and her sandwich that tasted even sweeter now. Still grinning, she chewed on a mouthful of strawberry marmalade, feeling all giddy and warm. Finally, the first date with her boyfriend.

Suddenly blinking in confusion, she paused. Something about that sounded definitely wrong. The next moment, she burst into giggles, slapping a hand over her eyes and shaking her head.

"God, can't that guy do anything in a proper order?" she mumbled to herself.

Everything related to him did always get mixed up. Really now. Obviously, she would have lots of sleepless nights because of him no matter what.

-

Calling their date awkward would be an understatement.

Natsu really didn't get it. What happened to them? They used to have so much fun together as friends back then, but now that they had left that step behind, everything was accompanied by a sheepish glance, a nervous touch, a forced dialogue. He'd never thought he would ever be happy about a day with Lucy ending, but now that they were on their way home, he honestly kinda was. Hoping that tomorrow everything would just be back to normal.

As he watched Lucy's frame strutting a few steps ahead of him in her incredibly sexy backless dress she picked out for today, the fire-mage wondered who exactly up there hated them so much that almost everything had gone so horribly wrong.

It had actually started out pretty good, though. He had put on something relatively fancy (black pants and a beige chemise, even left his scarf at home), he had tried to bring a little order in that chaos on his head (vainly, though), complimented her on the way she looked (because, _damn_), and even brought her a flower he picked up on the way (he thought it was a strange sort of rose); basically, he'd done just about everything Happy had advised him to do. (One might wonder why Natsu would ask a _cat_ for advice, but first of all Happy was in fact the only one who knew about them, and other than that… well, even a cat could do better than Natsu when it came to stuff like this.)

Lucy had even commented how surprised she was at how considerate he could be. But eventually, of course, they had to leave the apartment. That was when things began to go bad.

She had taken his hand, looking very excited and very, very beautiful, and until they arrived in the centre of the city, they had chatted along cheerfully. When Fairy Tail was within sight, Lucy told him it'd be bothersome if someone from the guild saw them and decided to disturb their date with stupid questions. Natsu had thought that was pretty reasonable, so they took a different route.

Until Kana had crossed their path. Simply following what Lucy said beforehand about not wanting to be seen, he had immediately let go of her hand before the woman could spot them. After exchanging a bit small-talk with Kana about why they looked so fancy (Natsu had one of his dumb moments then, randomly crying out how it was _not_ a date), they had proceeded. But when he'd reached out his hand for her to hold, Lucy shot him a harsh scowl, telling him that they didn't need to hold hands; it could've been his imagination, but she'd practically spat it at him.

After not exchanging even one word on the rest of their way, they had finally arrived at the restaurant Lucy had made reservations at. From then on, things had gotten even more awkward than before. Natsu would try to make conversation and actually have some fun, but Lucy would always just put him off coldly, which had gotten him pretty nervous. Then there also were his bad table manners that Lucy had found not half as amusing as she did in the guild. After that, he had another stupid moment when he ducked down under the table as Arzack and Visca came into the restaurant.

Much to his relief, they had their table all the way in the back where they couldn't possibly disturb their date from. Lucy had given him a look so cold then that he felt shivers running down his spine as she snapped that she would go freshen up and give him a few minutes to think about what he was doing. Then, to make things worse, he had also spilled some red wine on her dress, which she claimed would never go out again.

And to top it all, he had forgotten that normally on dates the guy pays for both, and so Lucy had to pay for her share herself.

Sighing, Natsu dug his hands in his pockets, kicking one pebble out of his way. So now here they were, heading home after a really fucked-up first date. How could he have messed this up? Okay, so spilling wine on her and letting her pay for herself was pretty rude, but was it really so bad that she refused to talk to him?

He was painfully reminded at her words from the morning when she had told him that he had to keep her satisfied if he wanted to keep her all to himself. And losing her would be the worst thing to happen since Igneel left.

Trying to make the best of a bad job, he opened his mouth to speak. "Maybe we should've gone to Harujion instead. 'Cause that's where we first met, you know." It was definitely always a good move to show the girl you like that you remember that important little detail.

Lucy whirled around to him so fast and furiously that he actually startled and stopped in his tracks. "Yeah, what an idea! Maybe _then_ you wouldn't have been so damn scared of people finding out what's actually going on!"

Natsu stared back in pure confusion. Now wait just a minute. "Hah? Is that what this is all about?

"Of course it is!" she yelled, cheeks flushing in rage. "What do you think how it feels when the guy you're dating tells the waiter he wants some tacos for him and his _friend_! His god damn _friend_ that he's apparently only goofing around with!"

"Now cool down a sec, Luce," he said, knitting his brows at her. "It was _you_ who said she didn't want anyone to disturb our date."

Lucy shook his head at him in utter disbelief. "You really are hopeless. I might've said that, but that doesn't mean that you can treat me as if you're embarrassed if you're seen with me. Do you have any idea how that made me feel or do you just not care about that?"

Natsu scratched the back of his head, suddenly bashful. She did have a point there, actually. Maybe ducking down because of Arzack and Visca hadn't been so nice; and quite embarrassing for Lucy too, since everyone in the restaurant had been looking at them. Also, letting go of her hand and denying her so loudly had definitely been unnecessary, too.

He gave an exhausted sigh, mumbling rougher than he wanted, "Look, I'm just not good at stuff like this, okay? Let's forget about tonight and that's that."

The ice-cold expression from before returned on her face as she glared viciously at him. "Oh, so that's that, yeah? Well, if it obviously doesn't mean much to you, it seems I'm just wasting my time here. Good night," she spat, turning on her heels and flouncing off.

Natsu was more than baffled at first, but his eyes didn't widen because of her words, but rather because of what his eyes caught sight of on the ground not far away from her. "Err, Luce?"

"Shut up! Just leave me alone from now on!"

"But Luce, I really think you need to stop."

"And why would I do that? So that you can humiliate me some more, huh?"

"No, because right in front of you, there's-"

"KYA!"

Natsu winced when Lucy slipped on a large brown spot on the ground, painfully landing on her back. "… A puddle of mud," he finished, unable to suppress a chuckle as he rushed to her, bending over her miserable form as she lay in the puddle, covered by dirt, and soon his subtle chuckles turned to a throaty laughter.

Lucy narrowed his eyes at him. "Oh, you think that's funny, don't you?"

"Oh hell yeah," Natsu managed to gasp between laughter, holding his stomach. "Why are you so damn clumsy, freak?"

"Why are you so damn stupid, stupid," she snarled back, spattering some mud at him with her free hand.

"Oi oi!" he snickered, trying to duck from the dirt, but a few splashes landed in his face anyhow.

Lucy angrily puffed out some air in a quiet snort. "I swear this is the worst date ever," she scoffed softly.

Natsu grinned down at his favorite girl covered in mud, and reached out his hand to her. "C'mon, I'll help you up."

She snorted loudly this time, looking away as she slowly straightened up, ignoring his hand. "No, thank you, I really don't need help from a—Nnngh!" She grimaced in pain as one of her feet twisted hurtfully, but much to her luck, Natsu's reflexes were good enough that he caught her before she could fall back on the ground.

"Whoa, you okay?" he asked, examining her features in concern.

Lucy was still wincing as she looked down at her right foot. "Dunno. I might've sprained my ankle when I slipped." Experimentally, she tried to move her foot a bit, which made her groan in pain once more. "Oh damn, it hurts like hell. It hurts, it hurts, it hurts."

Natsu looked down at her ankle, watching her flinching each time she tried to step on it. Knitting up his brows to that serious expression he knew she wouldn't dare to dismiss with a veto, he slipped his other arm under her knees and picked her up.

"Okay. I'll take you to the hospital."

"Eh!?" she blurted out, her cheeks flushing the cutest shade of red as she started to pummel his chest with punches that really just tickled him. "I said I didn't _want_ your help! Put me down, you imbecile! Put me down right now!"

"Lucy," he said sternly, and funny enough, she immediately shut her mouth, eyes wide. "Someone needs to take a look at that. And clearly, you can't walk. So just shut up and let me take you to a doctor."

Lucy narrowed her eyes, looking away as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Wh-whatever, idiot."

He couldn't help but smirk in triumph. "Good girl."

-

"Well, that's a sprained ankle alright," the doctor said, letting go of Lucy's soar foot. "How did it happen?"

Lucy flushed crimson in embarrassment while Natsu gave an amused grin. "Let's just say, there was a mud-related incident," he chuckled, earning a deadly glare from the girl.

The elder doctor raised one bushy eyebrow. "All right then, Miss Heartphilia," he said, deciding not to dig deeper on that. "I'll bandage your foot up provisory, and give you some moderately weak pain killers. But it looks like you'll have to come back in a few days so we can provide you with a proper splint."

"But I'll be able to walk normally, right?" Lucy inquired, frowning at the elder man.

"That should be no problem," the doctor assured her, offering a polite smile. "Also, I'm sure this young man here will gladly help you out with anything you need. He has, after all, carried you all the way here in his arms. Most boys wouldn't do that for their girl."

Lucy narrowed her eyes when she caught sight of Natsu's proud smirk, turning her head away with a snort. "He's just a friend."

Natsu's smile slowly faded away to be replaced by a look of utter confusion, feeling a rather painful sting in his chest. Just a friend? After all this time and everything they had… Oh dear God. Suddenly, it clicked and he saw it plain as day. Damn, he really was hopeless.

The doctor frowned at them, shrugging his shoulders. "Well, I'm sorry for getting the wrong impression then," he said, standing up from the small stool in front of the bedside Lucy was sitting on. "I'll tell the nurse to write out a prescription for the pain killers. It'll take just a second."

"Okay," Lucy murmured, watching the doctor exit the room and close the door behind him. Sighing, she turned to Natsu who was watching her features intently, frowning at her. "I'm in the best hands, you know. You don't have to wait with me."

Suddenly, a warm smile spread on his face. "I'm good here."

"I mean it," she insisted, beckoning with a flap of her hand for him to leave. "Go and do something more fun."

Natsu smirked in amusement, gently catching her hand with his. "Nope, don't wanna," he mumbled against the soft skin of the back of her hand as he brushed his lips over it in a fleeting kiss. "I'd rather stay right here with my girlfriend."

Lucy's head spun around to him in shock, eyes wide as she gaped at him, blankly.

The fire-mage gave a cheeky grin. "She's been pretty mean to me all day, though. But I guess I deserved that for being so inconsiderate about her feelings. Thank God she's so patient with me."

"Wh-what are you…" she murmured in disbelief, but was cut off when he pressed a soft kiss on her mouth.

"No matter what you say, I'll stay here," he told her, tracing his thumb over her cheek. "Cause you're my girlfriend."

Flushing the deepest shade of red a face could possibly be, Lucy lowered her head until she was sure he couldn't make out her expression anymore. Only then she allowed herself smile in relief, desperately trying to not let him see that her eyes were all glassy with emotion as she hooked her fingers with his, squeezing his hand tightly.

"Idiot."

It was then that Natsu realized that a really bad date could always end with something really good. It was just simple like that.

**tbc**


	4. The Thing with Being a Couple

AN: The chapters are definitely getting longer. It was actually too big for LJ. Gee, what am I doing?

Anyway, this chapter took me quite a bit, because I had three different versions planned. This one came out best, but it was pretty hard to write for some reason, since it didn't start off that good. That's why I really dislike something about Loki's part. I dunno. But the rest, I'm actually proud of. I think I captured them all pretty well.

And yes, I love to hint at as many couples as possible – which doesn't necessarily mean I like them. But most of the time I do. Just ignore me, it's insanely late in my country.

Disclaimer: Not mine. Because I'm certainly not Hiro Mashima, as you might've noticed.

**About the Simple Things**

**Chapter 4: **The Thing with Being a Couple

- In which there are unforeseen reactions and some bets -

- Loki -

Natsu sighed in contentment as he leaned back against the bathtub, deeply sucking in the scent of Lucys soothing bubble bath; smelled somewhat like summer did. His eyes were closed pleasurably, both arms resting on either side of the tub and to make his state of utmost relaxation perfect, there she was, the girl of his dreams, leaning with her delicate back against his chest and playing with the bubbles. He smiled when he felt Lucy turn her head slightly to nuzzle her nose against his neck, the loose hairs of her messy bum tickling his shoulder as she gave a soft, satisfied moan.

"I swear I never wanna get out of this tub," Natsu mumbled absentmindedly.

Lucy giggled softly with a small sound of agreement as she blew some bubbles off of her hand. "My hands are already starting to shrivel up, though."

He shrugged, his eyes still closed. "Who cares."

The blonde summoner gave a warm smile, and then sighed deeply when she gazed up at the ceiling with a frown, suddenly looking very reflective. "Natsu?"

"Mh-hm?"

"Don't you think it's about time we told the others about us?"

Natsu promptly opened his eyes to a puzzled look, brows knitting up. "Well, it's not like we've been really hiding it, right?" he murmured. "I mean, we're just not the kind of couple that makes out in front of their friends. It's not our fault they don't realize it. They can be really dense at times."

"Look who's talking," Lucy teased playfully, grinning up at him and giggling when he splashed some water at her in offence. "But really, I think it'd be better if we told them. I'd definitely feel much more at ease knowing I can touch you whenever I want without risking to cause some of the older guild members to have a heart attack."

"I get that and all, but why push it?" He wrapped his arms around her waist, rubbing his cheek against hers from behind. "It's all good the way it is, right? We're doing fine, everything's normal at the guild and nobody's pestering us with stupid questions. Why not enjoy being this carefree while it lasts?"

Lucy gave a smug smile. "So basically, what you're saying is," she purred sweetly as she turned her head to look at him, "You don't want people to know that your girlfriend is an incredibly sexy and talented Stellar Spirit mage?"

"You forgot to mention your giant ego."

She playfully boxed his arm. "You doofus. At least admit you're just scared that I'll reveal some delicate details about you."

Natsu gave a laugh. "Why would I be scared of that?" he chuckled and arched a brow at her. "Hell, I'd probably be a hero among the guys for cracking the girl who came in second as Miss Fairy Tail."

"You're horrible," Lucy scoffed dramatically.

"Well, that's the risk of having everyone know about us," he remarked nonchalantly.

She smiled slyly. "I think I'm gonna take that risk. You know, Natsu," she murmured lascivious when she fully turned around, straddling him seductively and slinging her arms around his neck, "Think about it that way. Nobody's gonna try to make a move on me ever again."

"Hmm," he purred thoughtfully, his hands softly grabbing her thighs. "Interesting. Go on."

Lucy gave a smug smirk as she leaned down a bit to nibble at his lower lip. "You'll be able to kiss me whenever you want," she whispered into his mouth.

Natsu grinned against her lips. "Mh-hm. That's true."

"And also," she breathed with her most alluring voice, squirming against him, "You'll be a hero."

And just like that, he burst into hoarse chuckles, burying his head between her jaw and shoulder. "Yeah, that sure sounds awesome."

"So are we gonna tell them?" She softly touched his face to make him look at her, tilting her head when she brushed her nose against his. "Or do you need more convincing?"

Natsu arched a brow and smirked at her. "You know, Luce, I was never against them knowing."

The summoner pursed her lips at him in a definitely attractive way, playing with the salmon-colored hair on his neck. "Are you really sure about that?" she asked with a breathy voice, giving him a look that unmistakably meant _that_. "I'm really good at convincing."

Possessing some strange sort of animalistic intelligence when it was about those things, Natsu immediately got her hint, mischievously grinning up at her. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah," Lucy whispered before she dove in for a hungry kiss.

They were so preoccupied with their lip-bruising make out session that the relatively loud popping noise almost made them jump out of their skins. Wide eyed and utterly dumfounded, they watched in some sort of shocked daze how a male silhouette surfaced in the middle of the bathroom, soon solidifying to a full-grown human (or maybe not so much human) man with a giant orange mane.

And suddenly, there was Loki standing before them, flashing a cheerful grin.

"Good day, Lucy, my darling! I've come to-" He cut himself off when his sunglasses started to cloud over. "Whoa, it sure is steamy in here."

"KYA!"

"Lucy? Where are you? I can't see anything!"

While Loki was looking around disoriented, his master had finally managed to snap back to reality from her state of utmost shock. She yelped in horror, immediately sliding off of Natsu's lap and ducking down beneath the water, which helped the fire-mage awake from his dumbstruck numbness. As the Stellar Spirit was trying to rub the steam from his sunglasses, Natsu quickly wrapped his arms around Lucy's breasts protectively, glaring viciously.

"Cover your eyes, you freak!" he snarled while his girlfriend was already blushing all shades of crimson, unable to form a correct sentence. "Damn it, what are you even doing here!?"

Loki blinked behind his clouded glasses in bewilderment. "Huh? Natsu? What the…" The next moment, something seemed to occur to him that made his eyes widen appalled. "Wait, we're not in Lucy's bathroom, are we?"

Natsu scowled dangerously at him. "Damn right we are! And she's naked, so don't you dare look!"

"You didn't have to tell him that!" Lucy shrieked bashfully.

"Man, of all the places," Loki cursed, looking away in embarrassment. "I am very sorry, Lucy."

Lucy quickly waved it off, only to realize that the Stellar Spirit wasn't able to see her anyway. Calming down a little at that insight, she gave a small sigh. "Never mind, Loki. Did you want something special?"

"Ah, yes! I've come to tell you-" But once again he cut himself off when his eyes widened once more in realization. "Wait a second. What the hell is Natsu doing in the bathtub with you!?"

The summoner felt her cheeks heat up, glancing over at Natsu who just looked away almost sheepishly. Then she turned back to Loki, nervously nudging her fingers together. "Well, you see… That's because Natsu und I are kind of… um, a couple now," she murmured weakly. "Actually, we've already been for quite a while."

There was a tense silence for a full minute, in which neither of them dared to move.

Loki's gawking mouth slowly closed. "… Oh."

"I honestly didn't want you to find out like this, but… well," Lucy sputtered in embarrassment. "I hope it won't stand between us as friends and… I – I really hope you're not too crushed." Holding her breath, she waited for his reaction.

Much to her and Natsu's utter confusion, Loki surprised them both with a nervous grin as he scratched his head. "I admit I'm a little bummed, but since it's Natsu…" He gave a short laugh. "I guess I can tolerate it."

Lucy blinked at him in puzzlement. "… Really?"

"Of course. I knew this would happen sooner or later," Loki pointed out and waved it off while Natsu wondered whether the guy meant her generally getting a boyfriend or the two of them starting something. "So I was kind of prepared already. Well, I wasn't exactly prepared for _this_ scenario…"

"It's not my dream scenario either, idiot. We're the ones naked here," Natsu growled out.

Loki flashed him a grin. "I want you to know that you have nothing to worry about, Natsu. If it's you, I won't try to steal her. I'm happy for you guys."

While the fire-mage snorted upon that, Lucy could still only gawk at Loki in disbelief. "… Really?"

"Yes, really," he replied warmly with a smile. "Since it's Natsu, I know that Lucy's in good hands."

Natsu somehow felt a little embarrassed at his words, awkwardly clearing his throat as he asked, "So what was it that you wanted to tell her?" Seeing how the blonde was still in some state of shock, he guessed he would have to just speak for her.

"Oh, it can wait. You two are obviously… busy." He grinned slyly at them. "I'll just come back later when my timing hopefully isn't so bad."

Lucy was _still_ gawking. "… Really?"

Arching a brow at the girl in sympathy, Loki shrugged. "Well, see you later then, my dearest Lucy. I'm still very sorry for this inconvenient intrusion. Oh, and don't forget to use protection!"

"Just get outta here, dumbass!" Natsu snapped as a chuckling Loki vanished back to the realm of the spirits.

Slowly, Lucy seemed to actually get over the horror, but she was still blinking in utter confusion. "He… he took it really well," she murmured in disbelief. "Why did he take it so well? I thought he _loved_ me."

She noticed from the corner of her eyes how Natsu scowled at her, crossing his arms over his chest, and she couldn't help but smile. Really, that guy could be so readable and obvious.

"I'm not disappointed, you dork," she told him, flipping her fingers against his forehead. "I'm just confused is all. No reason to get jealous, though it's kinda cute."

"Whatever," Natsu huffed and looked away as he sulked for a bit more.

Lucy tapped her chin reflectively. "Still, it's weird that he was so calm about this."

"Who knows," said the fire-mage with a shrug, leaning back against the bathtub. "He must've been scared of my awesome powers."

"No, I don't think that's it."

"Are you saying Loki's stronger than me!?"

"Hmm. Maybe."

"That's it! Natsu tackle!"

"KYA! No tickling!"

- Erza and Kana -

After Loki had surprisingly taken the news very well, almost indifferently, Lucy and Natsu decided that it was pretty safe to also tell all the others in Fairy Tail. Well, actually, Lucy had decided this for them both, but since Natsu neither disagreed nor argued with her, she figured that he pretty much didn't care if anyone knew or not. The blonde thought it wasn't very nice to let their friends vegetate in a world of cluelessness, so she asked her boyfriend (actually, she very much _ordered_ him) to tell everyone who wanted to know the truth about them.

The first people to know would of course be Gray and Erza. It was practically a given that they told them first, them being both their best friends and all. Funny enough, Natsu had suddenly been pretty eager to be the one that delivered Gray the news, which left Lucy to take care of Erza.

And now that she was approaching the woman everyone called Titania, she cursed Natsu for being such a damn coward when it came to _that_ woman.

Lucy swallowed the big lump of anxiousness inside her throat, realizing that she was subtly trembling as she made one careful step after the other. Her intimidated stare was focused on Erza who was enjoying a bit of small talk with Kana, sitting by one of the tables in Fairy Tail's bar. She almost wanted to turn around and run the hell away, but one glance in Natsu's direction (he was watching the whole scene from a safe distance of approximately thirty feet) encouraged her to just get this over with. Nodding as he flashed a thumbs-up, she nodded weakly, gulping once again.

And suddenly, Erza was looking at her and Lucy felt her heart sink right into her feet. _Don't show her you're scared. Don't show her you're scared_, she told herself over and over again, forcing a nervous grin to spread on her face as she spoke up with a quaky voice.

"H-hi."

Erza gave her a warm smile; Lucy savored being one of the few people Erza actually smiled at – it could, after all, be the last time. "Hey, Lucy."

Kana grinned a bit groggily, cheeks reddened from the alcohol she was once again enjoying. "O-ho, long time no see," she said and after taking a long sip from her mug, she added, "How's your foot? I heard you broke it, or something."

"That's right." Erza frowned, apparently ashamed for forgetting about that. "Are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine," Lucy mumbled, nervously nudging her fingers together as she smiled. "Actually, it was just a sprained ankle. I slipped in a puddle of mud. No biggie. See?" She raised her bandaged foot a bit, moving it around without pain or winces.

Erza breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good then."

"You're such a klutz, Lucy," Kana laughed.

Lucy thought it was maybe a good idea to carefully bring up Natsu little by little. Mentally prepare her and stuff. "Good thing Natsu was with me. He carried me all the way across town to the hospital."

Kana arched a brow. "_That_ Natsu?" she questioned in surprise.

"He's pretty reliable when you need him," Erza pointed out, visibly pleased. "I'm proud of him. He grew up to a fine young man."

"You talk as if you're his mother."

_Now carefully make another hint_, Lucy told herself. "Yeah, he can be very sweet. And pretty obliging."

Erza skeptically raised her eyebrows as Kana inquired once again, "_That_ Natsu, obliging? Are you sure we're talking about the same guy?"

Lucy felt her cheeks heat up a bit as a soft smile formed on her lips. "There are a lot of things you don't know about him."

"Obviously," Erza said doubtfully, and the blonde felt a shiver run down her spine.

"Ah, but figures." Kana waved it off, nibbling at her alcohol. "He's much closer to you. I mean, you even managed to make him dress up. I don't know how you did it, though."

Erza's brown eyes immediately flashed up at this, and Lucy flinched. "What do you mean?"

Kana blinked at her sudden interest. "Nothing much. It's just, when I saw them the other day, they looked pretty fancy. Like they were on a date or something," she mumbled nonchalantly. "But since it's Natsu we're talking about, I figured that couldn't be even before he denied it."

Erza narrowed her eyes, and Lucy gulped. "So they looked fancy, huh? Date-fancy, yeah?"

"Yeah, but you know Natsu. He wouldn't even know what a date _is_."

Lucy shot a scowl in Natsu's direction that had him blink in confusion. Kana was definitely right with that one. He might have done better on their second and third date, but their first one had her still boil with frustration over his dumbness. She was so caught up in her thoughts that Erza's dangerous voice and her question made her freeze up to her bones.

"What _exactly_ were you guys doing then?"

_Don't show her you're scared_, Lucy thought in total intimidation and smiled innocently at her friends. "Wh-what were we doing?"

"Yes, I wanna know," Erza practically demanded, her fierce stare piercing the blonde. Kana's eyes flitted back and forth from Lucy to the red-head, confused and obviously oblivious.

Lucy gave a much too high giggle. "W-well, it's kinda funny you ask," she sputtered nervously, crossing her arms behind her back and wiggling on her toe tips, careful not to make too much eye-contact. "Because we actually… Um, kind of, you know. _Were_ on a date."

The silence that followed to her revelation was so tense that Lucy felt like the whole guild was staring at them; in reality though, it was only a very anxious Natsu. The summoner squeezed her eyes shut, ready for whatever torture would await her, but instead…

Lucy carefully opened one eye.

Nothing happened. Of course something _did_ happen; it just wasn't what she expected.

"Damn it," Erza and Kana chorused in perfect unison.

Lucy was more shocked than she would have ever been if Erza had barged towards her with a thousand of swords. Their reactions were almost as weird as Loki's had been, though in a different way. And what the hell did they mean by 'damn it'?

She was so incredibly taken aback that she couldn't even speak.

Erza scowled indignantly at the blonde. "You just couldn't wait for another three months, could you!?"

Lucy gawked blankly at her friend. "I… I'm sorry?"

"Sorry isn't going to get me my money back!" The blonde could still only gape in pure bafflement as Erza shot out of her chair, stomping off in a very certain direction. "I lost a fortune, damn it! Natsu's going to _pay_ for this!"

Kana gawked in utter horror as Erza barged towards Natsu with some strange sort of war cry as the fire-mage hastily dashed off.

"Bastard! You're going to pay me back right now!"

"GAH! Pay you back for _what_, damn it!?"

Lucy was meanwhile too busy wondering about what Erza had just indicated.

Okay. Something was fishy. And it certainly wasn't Happy's breath because he was too far away. What was with all that talk about money and a fortune that Erza lost? If Lucy didn't know any better, she would almost think that… But, no. Those were her friends she was talking about. They couldn't possibly have…

No, they wouldn't. … Would they?

"Ah shit, this is such a let-down." Kana gave a deep sigh as she rested her head in her palm. When Lucy shot her a confused stare, the woman quickly corrected herself, "A-ah, I don't mean _you_ guys! It's cool you and Natsu are dating now, I'm happy for you."

Oh no way in hell, they really did. Lucy's eyes narrowed and it looked even scarier because she actually _smiled_. "Kana," she said sweetly. "Did you guys by any chance try to benefit from my private life?"

Kana gave a nervous laugh. "Eh-hehe. No?"

Lucy's face was suddenly right before hers, and Kana actually _shrieked_. "Tell me who's behind this."

- Gray and Lluvia –

Gray almost jumped out of his skin when he found Natsu cowering under his table right between his legs; damn everything, why did he have to take his pants off _now_ of all times?

"The _fuck_ are you doing-"

"Shht!" Natsu hissed with a finger on his mouth, giving him a meaningful look. "Hide me. It's Erza."

And oddly enough, Gray immediately shut his mouth at this. They had a secret understanding concerning every Erza-related emergency: Never ever sell each other out to the spawn of evil. And sure enough, Erza was soon standing before the ice-mage, bristling with anger and surrounded by the most vicious aura he had ever felt.

"Where. Is. He," she demanded, alarmingly quiet.

He saw Natsu throwing him a pleading look. "Who?"

"Na. Tsu." The way she spat the syllables of the name caused Gray goose bumps.

There was a silence in which Natsu prayed to the heavens that Gray wouldn't tell her he was right beneath her. And obviously, God was on his side that day.

"I think he ran outside just a moment ago."

When Erza dashed off without a thank you or any kind of recognition whatsoever, Natsu gave a sigh of relief, slowly crawling out from beneath the table to sit down across from Gray. Damn it all. He thought it had been pretty clever to send Lucy to talk to Erza (he figured she wouldn't do anything to her precious female friend), and yet it still somehow got him into knee-deep shit. He could only hope Erza would cool off until the next time he saw her; then again, that woman possessed an elephant's memory.

"What the hell was that all about?" Gray inquired, arching a brow at him.

Natsu just waved it off with a strained sigh. "She just found out that Lucy and I are a couple now."

Gray blinked at him in utter bafflement. For a long, long time. His mouth even hung open. Natsu smirked a bit. The guy looked like a landed fish right now. But when he finally started talking after what definitely were three full minutes, it was Natsu who looked like a landed fish.

"Damn it."

The fire-mage narrowed his eyes. "Hah? You got something to say, punk?"

Gray looked up and surprised his rival with an uncommon calm response, "Err. No. It's just, my…" He didn't finish the sentence, instead he sighed. Damn. He just lost a fortune.

Natsu's eyes widened at a sudden realization. "O-oi, don't tell me you… you love Lucy!?"

"_No_, you idiot!" Gray snapped, actually blushing a bit at the absurdness of that question. "She's pretty damn cute and all, but she's yours, isn't she?"

"Yeah," Natsu said slowly, carefully arching a brow at him. "But you didn't know that until just now."

Gray gave a sly grin. "You really are a damn idiot. We've known each other for over ten years. I'd know when you set your eyes on a girl. I was _there_ every time, you know." He leaned back in his chair, looking triumphant. "I've known right from the start that you had a thing for her. But to go as far as to start a relationship… Who would've thought. You really like her, huh?"

Natsu felt his cheeks heat up a bit, but quickly hid it by running a hand through his salmon hair and looking away. "Yeah. I like her a lot."

"Oi, you dork."

When he looked up, Gray was looking down, his raven hair hiding a faint blush.

"Congratulations."

Natsu couldn't help a smile, knowing this was Gray's way of telling him that he was happy for them. That idiot was just way too much like him when it came to these sorts of things. The fire-mage would never admit it, but he actually felt a little relieved after he heard Gray approve of it. Maybe that guy's opinion meant more to him than he would ever let on.

"Thanks."

"I just hope Lucy knows what she's doing, dating a freak like you."

And just like that, Natsu was glaring at him again. "What was that, asshole!?"

"Eeeh!?"

A very high and very, very gleeful sounding voice promptly put an end to their argument before it could even start. The two men turned around to see Lluvia standing there, looking more than happy as she clasped her hands together in utter delight.

"Natsu-san, is it really true?" she exclaimed, very much thrilled. "You and Lucy-san are dating!?"

Natsu smirked at her. "Yup, it's true."

Lluvia blurted out an elated squeal and stumbled over to him to throw her arms around him in a bone-crushing hug that had him and Gray blink in utter bewilderment.

"Oh, thank you, Natsu-san! Thank you so much!" she sputtered happily, squeezing him even tighter, and Natsu could only think it was a good thing Lucy didn't see it if she was just half as jealous a person as he was. "You have no idea how happy Lluvia is!"

"Y-you're welcome, I guess?" Natsu mumbled completely baffled.

Suddenly, Lluvia's eyes widened and she let go of Natsu as if he just burned her. "Gray-sama!" she exclaimed as she whirled around so fast that the ice-mage flinched. "Th-this doesn't mean Lluvia _likes_ Natsu-san or anything! Lluvia is just so happy that her rival in love has found someone new!"

Gray blinked at her, wide eyes. "I-it's okay. I get it, I get it."

"But isn't this great, Gray-sama!?" His mind didn't work quick enough to keep up with the sonic speed she used to take a seat next to him. Hugging his arm, she added, "Now there's nothing that can stop us anymore!"

"Hah!?" Gray blurted out, blushing the faintest bit.

Natsu smirked. "Pfft. I guess I'll leave you two lovebirds alone then."

Gray's eyes widened with despair. "Natsu! Don't you _dare_-"

"See you later." And off he was.

The ice-mage gave a beat sigh, glancing down at Lluvia who was still nuzzling against his arm. "Oi," he spoke up. "Why the hell are you so happy? Didn't you lose some money, too?"

"Yes, but Lluvia doesn't care." She beamed up at him. "Because Lluvia's rival in love is no longer a rival."

"I-is that so." Gray thought it was better not to ask.

- Mirajane, Levi and Visca –

"I know what you did."

Mirajane turned around, arching her brows in surprise as she caught sight of Lucy, looking pretty angry with her as she leaned at the counter. Well, that was very odd. Since when was Lucy _angry_ with her?

"What do you mean, Lucy?" she asked innocently. She had a vague guess.

"You know what I mean," Lucy huffed, scowling at the bartender.

Mirajane blinked. "I'm afraid I don't." Though really, it was probably because of _that_.

"Answer one question." Lucy's eyes narrowed even further. "Did you or did you not take bets about how long it'll take Natsu and me to become a couple?"

_Bingo_, Mirajane thought, a bit amused. She had to find out sooner or later.

"I might have," she answered honestly.

"I can't _believe_ you!" Lucy blurted out, cheeks flushing. "You'd actually bet over something like that!? That's just rude! You guys are _rude_, you hear!"

Mirajane flashed her white teeth in a smile. "Aw, c'mon, what's the big deal? We're just having a little fun with the obvious."

"Well, here's news for you." Lucy smiled triumphantly, tossing her hair over her shoulder with a passionate movement. "You can call the bets off now. Because Natsu and I _are_ in fact dating now."

Mirajane looked delighted, to say the least. She bent forward in excitement. "Oh my, really!? That's so great for you guys! I'm so happy!"

Lucy crossed her arms over her voluptuous chest, quirking a brow at Mirajane. "Yeah, yeah, you can drop the act now. You already knew, didn't you?"

Mirajane gave a giggle, scratching the back of her head. "Visca saw you guys at a restaurant."

And just like that, Lucy shot a vicious glare in Visca's direction who was sitting a little further away at the bar, vaguely following their conversation. Visca flinched and nervously started to play around with her fingers.

"I-I only told Mira!" she quickly sputtered.

Lucy narrowed her eyes even further.

Visca gulped, looking away. "And maybe Levi, too."

"Ah, so that's why she's been so down all week." Lucy sighed as she turned around to Levi who was sulking at a table behind her. "You lost in that stupid bet, huh?"

Levi nodded miserably. "Gee, Lu-chan. Couldn't you guys have made out just a month sooner?"

"Don't feel too bad, Levi-chan. I lost in the bet, too," Mirajane told her soothingly.

Lucy arched a brow, still pretty disgruntled. "So what did _you_ bet on, oh mighty guard of the wagers?"

Mirajane offered a wide smile. "Three weeks."

The summoner could only gawk at her in disbelief. "You bet that Natsu and I would start something after knowing each other just three weeks?"

Mirajane nodded eagerly. "Yup."

"That's just _stupid_."

"But you always were so lovey-dovey."

"When were we ever _lovey-dovey_?"

"Hey, Lucy," Visca said, suddenly standing next to her and nudging the blonde gently in the side. "So now that it's official and all, how did it happen?"

"Oooh! Oh yeah, tell us everything," Levi chirped as she shot up from her chair to prance to Lucy's side, smiling very mischievously.

Lucy felt her cheeks heat up bit by bit when even Mirajane scooted closer, basing her face on her arms, eyes sparkling in excitement. Her face flushed even more when she thought back to that particular first night, and that particular first kiss.

"Um, well. You know how it is." Her voice was very weird and quaky. "It just kinda happened."

"Lu-chan, don't tease us," Levi whined, pursing her lips.

"We wanna hear everything," Mirajane said in anticipation as Visca nodded.

The blonde started playing with her fingers, feeling embarrassed for some reason. "Well, one night, he just… sort of kissed me."

"Oooh," they all cooed in perfect unison.

Lucy felt her lips curl up to a warm smile. "It was totally random, but in a good way."

"Okay, all right, let's hear about the kiss," said Visca.

Mirajane gave a dreamy smile. "I bet it was like a soft brush against your lips, wasn't it? Really shy and chaste."

"Don't bet, you're _not_ good at it," Visca pointed out.

"Oh, I know!" Levi exclaimed. "It's Natsu we're talking about. It was definitely an 'I gotta have you now' kind of thing. Really passionate and stuff."

Lucy giggled quietly, thinking Levi might not be that wrong. Usually, the blonde wasn't one to openly talk about her private life, but hey, they were all girls. Plus, she was scared she would maybe explode one day if she didn't tell anyone soon. What were girlfriends for if not for sharing these beautiful little details with?

"Well, at first it was really intense, you know," she said. "And then, we just sort of sunk into it."

"So, was he holding you?" Visca inquired.

"Was he hugging you gently like he never wanted to let go?" Mirajane added.

"Or was his hand, like, on your back or something?" Levi asked.

Lucy felt like crying from happiness. It was so great to finally be able to talk to girls about it. So great that she didn't even feel embarrassed about it anymore, rather… proud. A bit, at least. And very excited to share that wonderful moment of her life.

She gave a content sigh. "Actually, first they started on my waist. And then, they slid up, and then…" She bit her lip, touching her blonde locks. "They were in my hair."

"Ohh," they cooed once more.

Mirajane smiled in awe. "That's so romantic."

"Lu-chan, you're sooo lucky."

"I wish Arzack was like that."

Arzack called up from somewhere behind them, "What was that about me?"

"Nothing," the three women sighed, dreamily.

Lucy just grinned. Maybe she was a bit of a hero, too.

- Gazille –

"And then I kissed her," Natsu told Gazille around a mouthful of pizza.

Gazille nodded in comprehension. "Tongue?"

Natsu swallowed the bite, nodding. "Yeah."

"Cool," Gazille said, vaguely impressed, chewing on his own piece of pizza. "Bed-wise?"

"Hot."

"Thought so."

- Lluvia part two –

Lucy sighed. "Lluvia? You can let go of me now."

"Lluvia is so happy! Thank you so much for giving up on Gray-sama!"

Another sigh. "I told you, I never had a crush on Gray to begin with."

"Thank you so much, Lucy-san!"

_Hopeless_, Lucy thought, smiling a bit as she patted the girl's back. "You're welcome."

- Elfman, Arzack, Jet and Droy –

"I am so touched." Elfman actually sniffled a little, but tried his best to hide his glassy eyes. "Natsu, you truly are a man among men."

Jet frowned at the fire-mage. "I don't get it. It sounds so easy when you say it, yet Levi rejected me within two seconds."

"Oi, at least she hesitated a bit with you," Droy growled out, scowling at his friend. "I was rejected _right away_."

"That's tough," Jet nodded in sympathy, patting Droy's back. "We're companions in misfortune."

Arzack grinned widely at Natsu. "Seems we were just really lucky, eh Natsu?"

Natsu blinked. "What do you mean, we?" But soon his eyes widened in realization. "Ah, that's right! You and Visca were in that restaurant too, when Lu and I had our first date."

"Yup, we're going out now," Arzack told them proudly.

"What the… You too!?" Jet blurted out.

Droy sighed in defeat. "Damn, it's just not fair anymore."

"So manly." Elfman sniffled once more.

Natsu offered him a wide grin. "Hey, congratulations! It was about time, idiot."

Arzack chuckled. "You too, Natsu."

"I really hate you guys," Droy said.

Jet nodded miserably. "Yeah."

- Macau and the other guys –

"Hey hey, Lucy," Macau said with a sly grin as she walked past his table. He wiggled his eyebrows at her. "I just heard from Kana. Congratulations. I knew right from the start."

Lucy smiled happily at him, slowly starting to enjoy all the attention. "Thank you, Macau-san."

"Lucy-chyaaan," Wakaba whined pitifully. "You're really taken now?"

Lucy grinned. "Looks like it."

"No faaair!"

"What are _you_ disappointed for?" Macau teased, grinning devilishly. "You have a wife, you idiot."

Wakaba suddenly looked more than crushed. "Ungh, don't mention my wife…"

"Man, Natsu sure is lucky," Max said with a grin, pretty impressed. "Lucy came in second as Miss Fairy Tail after all. And her bikini pictures sell like hot cakes."

Lucy sighed in exasperation while Warren just laughed, telling him, "I wouldn't sell those anymore if I were you. Knowing Natsu, he'll be pretty pissed."

"GAH! That's true! I've gotta talk to Master!"

Lucy's eyes widened. Oh right. She almost forgot about _him_.

- Makarov –

"Hey, look," Lucy cooed as she slung her arms around Natsu's neck from behind, giving him a soft peck on the cheek; Natsu startled a bit, but soon smiled. "I can do this in public now."

"How cute," Jet and Droy chorused with a glare.

Lucy stuck her tongue out at them, sitting down next to Natsu as he rolled his eyes, growling out, "Oh, knock it off, you bastards. Get over it."

The blonde smiled sweetly at her boyfriend, playing with his fingers. "So, looks like almost everyone knows now."

"Guess so," Natsu said, biting into the last piece of his pizza. "Who's left?"

"Master," Lucy said innocently. "I figured we'd tell him together."

Natsu blinked at her. "Why?" he asked around a mouthful.

Lucy flinched as some crumbs landed in her face, wiping them away with a scowl. "Jeez, swallow before you talk, you idiot." Sighing, she explained, "Because he's the _Master_, Natsu. It's more appropriate this way. After all, he thinks of all of us as his children."

Swallowing, he shrugged. "Makes sense," he admitted, nodding. "Okay, come here."

Lucy watched in bewilderment as Natsu slung an arm around her shoulders, turning around to the counter where Makarov was apparently taking a nap in a cross-legged position; or he was faking it, like so often. Obviously, Natsu didn't care either way as he took a deep breath and Lucy immediately felt like slapping her forehead at his bluntness.

"OI! JII-CHAN!"

Makarov cracked an eye open. Lucy thought it was astounding he had heard Natsu through all the noise in the guild; then again, Natsu's voice was just loud like that.

"What do you want? You're noisy, brat."

Natsu grinned widely at him. "Check it out! I have a girlfriend now!"

Makarov smirked, quirking a brow. "Ah, so you and Lucy finally hit it off." Yawning, he added, "Right on time. I just won a fortune."

Lucy couldn't believe what she was hearing, gawking at the elder mage in pure disbelief. "Master, don't tell me you actually took part in that stupid bet-thing!"

Natsu blinked. "What bet-thing?"

"Actually," Mirajane spoke up, smiling at them. "He was the one who set it all up in the first place. I just took care of all the details and the money."

"I-I can't believe it…!" Lucy sputtered in shock. "Master! How could you!"

Makarov gave a nervous grin. "It seemed like an easy way to make some money. You two were just way too obvious and predictable."

Lucy was still gaping in pure bafflement, but Natsu was laughing loudly. She was on the brink of whacking him across the head for laughing over their rudeness, but when he grinned at her and squeezed her hand, her anger was subdued to a mere scowl.

"You know, we really were, Luce." He leaned his forehead against hers. "Everyone knew before we did."

Lucy sighed, shaking her head, and smiled. "Looks like it."

"You guys are just sooo cute," Jet and Droy chorused monotonously.

Natsu groaned in irritation. "Knock it off already!"

Lucy was suddenly grinning slyly. "You know what? We really are cute." And with that, she leaned up to press a kiss on Natsu's grinning mouth.

"Oh man!" Droy whined. "Did you _have _to do that?"

Jet's head sunk down on the table in misery. "Life is so cruel."

Mirajane smiled at Makarov. "Looks like you won after all, Master." Makarov glanced up at her, grinning widely as he pointed his head at Natsu and Lucy.

"Looks like _they_ won."

**tbc**


	5. The Thing with the Three Words

AN: Yay, this chapter is short enough for LJ again. And quite surprisingly, it's also a bit sad. At least, I think so. It's always hard for me to be reminded that Natsu and Lucy share this kind of pain, which is definitely a good reason why they have that amazing understanding for each other, but it's also the one huge very depressing reason.

But hey, that's what they have each other for, and that is what this story is for. In this one, there's a huge step forward in their relationship, one that makes it so much more serious than it was before.

Disclaimer: Not mine. Because I'm certainly not Hiro Mashima, as you might've noticed.

**About the Simple Things**

**Chapter 5: **The Thing with the Three Words

- In which there's a note and a tough day -

Oddly enough, that morning, Lucy didn't wake up in Natsu's arms; which was weird since they had spent the night together at Natsu's place. Instead, she woke up with Happy in _her_ arms.

Lucy blinked at the little blue feline that was still sleeping soundly. And suddenly, she felt the strangest feeling soar up inside of her. It felt weird, very weird to not wake up next to Natsu. She had gotten so used to that simple little detail, his sleeping face right before hers, every morning when she opened her eyes, that now that he wasn't there, waking up felt really empty and depressive.

Careful not to wake Happy, she slowly drew her arm out from beneath his head, straightening up and thanking the heavens that she was wearing something. She didn't even want to imagine Happy crawling in their bed while she was laying there naked; it had happened once and it most definitely scarred her for the rest of her life. Then, Lucy glanced at the bedroom door, opened by a few inches. Peaceful silence was around her, disrupted only by a bit chirping from some birds outside.

Something told her Natsu might not be home.

Which was ridiculous, since she was still here. And Natsu would definitely not go anywhere and just leave her there. He'd know how insanely worried she'd be, because he was very well aware that he wasn't the only one fearing the loss of another loved one – Lucy had thrown a very hysterical fit when Natsu had gone on a quick mission with Gray the other day and accidentally forgot to tell her. She shuddered at the memory. She knew it was stupid to get so emotional over a mere five-hour-absence, but he was her boyfriend and she loved him.

Biting her lower lip, she brought her feet to the ground, feeling anxious for some reason.

Yes, she did love him. She might have not explicitly told Natsu yet, but she really did. So of course she would be scared that he might just disappear one day. Igneel did it. And didn't it say, like father, like son?

How could she ever be a hundred percent sure that Natsu wouldn't just leave her one day, without saying anything, just like his foster father did to him?

_Now you're being stupid, Lucy you idiot_, she mentally scolded herself, because that just didn't sound like her Natsu at all. Shaking her head, she softly slammed her hands against her cheeks to think clear. She told herself to stop being so unreasonable. Her little panic attack here was just plain crazy.

Alright, so it was morning and she didn't wake up next to him. Big deal. He was definitely in the shower, or in the kitchen eating a sandwich.

_Just be sane, Lucy, damn it._

Breathing deeply in and out, she finally stood up, tiptoeing her way to the door. When she was sure she was far enough away from the bedroom so she wouldn't wake Happy, she felt the need to speak up, desperately trying to hide the concern in her voice.

"Natsu…?" she murmured quietly.

Everything was quiet, except for those damn birds and Happy's soft snores. Lucy knitted up her brows. Seriously, where was that guy?

So this time she called a bit louder, "Natsu!"

Still nothing. Those god damn birds were really getting on her nerves right now.

She began to chew on the inside of her lower lip in an attempt to get rid of her anxiety and calm herself, proceeding to look for her stupid boyfriend. She checked the kitchen, nothing, the bathroom, nope, the living room again, no Natsu there.

He actually wasn't home.

Maybe he'd gone out to buy bread or something. Maybe she should just go back to bed and… Hey.

Lucy frowned when she spotted a small piece of paper on the table. Taking a deep breath, she slowly, almost heedfully, walked over to carefully pick it up like it was precious ancient vase or something. And most certainly, there was really terrible scrawl on it that could only be Natsu's handwriting.

_I'll be back in the evening. – Natsu_

Sudden relief washed over her. Lucy gave a small sigh, smiling for the first time that day. Of course she was a little suspicious of that vague note and that he didn't tell her where he went or what he was doing, but at least he _did_ leave a note this time. Meaning he'll definitely be back.

Really, there had been no reason for her to panic, even if there still was a certain feeling of anxiety deep down in her stomach…

"Lucy…?"

Lucy startled a bit, whirling around to see Happy scuffling from the bedroom, rubbing his big saucer eyes. She quickly offered him a smile as cheerful as possible to not needlessly alarm him.

"Morning, Happy!"

Happy sighed, and it sounded very relieved. "Good, at least _you're_ here with me this year. I'd hate to be alone on this day again."

"What?" The summoner arched her brows, looking very confused. "You already know that Natsu's not gonna be here today?"

"Of course I know," Happy said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "It's _that_ day."

Lucy blinked in bewilderment. "What day?"

Happy stared at her for a while, until a realization occurred to him and he nodded. "Oh aye, that's right. It's the first time it happened since you knew him." Then he frowned, adding, "But I'm totally surprised that you can be so dense at times. Lucy, you're not very bright, are you?"

"I really don't need to hear that from a _feline_!" she snapped, cheeks red in offence.

"Don't you know what date it is?" Happy inquired, sighing.

Lucy just quirked a brow in anticipation, visibly stumped for an answer. The blue cat looked at the ground, almost sadly, his shoulders sagging down a bit.

"It's the seventh of July."

And just like that, her eyes widened for two reasons that both hurt infinitely.

-

"I see." Lucy's voice was unusually quiet as she held her mug of steaming coffee tightly with both hands, leaning against Natsu's counter. "So every seventh of July, he goes to the place Igneel disappeared."

Happy nodded miserably, giving a small sigh. "Yeah, and he always goes alone, says he doesn't want anyone else there, not even me. He hopes that Igneel might come back."

"That's so naive."

Happy's head shot up, looking confused and maybe shocked even. But his eyes soon softened when they caught sight of Lucy's heart-wrenching smile as she gazed at her coffee.

Then, she gave a soft but hollow laugh. "And so like him."

Happy lowered his gaze. "Aye," he mumbled quietly.

Lucy couldn't really describe what she was feeling at the moment. She was overwhelmed by so many different emotions. There was guilt for thinking he would leave her when obviously he'd never do that to anyone else, knowing best how much it hurt. There was sympathy, because she knew how it felt, losing a parent. There was anger because he didn't say anything, because she had to hear about it from Happy and not him.

But most of all, there was disappointment. That Natsu shut her out, that he didn't trust her enough to rely on her when he needed her the most. He wouldn't let her be there for him, comfort him, be his shoulder to cry on, and that… _That_ really hurt the most.

It hurt just as badly as this day did.

"Lucy?"

The blonde looked up at the soft sound of Happy's voice, eyes widening when she heard him give a quiet sob.

"Don't ever leave Natsu, okay?"

Lucy was speechless at first, and somehow, she wanted to cry. Instead, she gave a deep sigh, moving to gently pat Happy's head, making him look up at her with his teary eyes. She smiled warmly at him, shaking her head slightly.

"To actually ask that," she said to him. "It's like you're insulting me."

Happy sniffled, and soon was crying loudly, his small shoulders were trembling violently with each sob that escaped him. Lucy continued to fondle his head, affectionately and comforting, while she looked outside the window, thinking about Natsu and wondering if he was okay. Actually, all she ever thought about was Natsu and if he was alright.

What a joke. Like she could ever leave him. Happy really wasn't very bright either.

"You're so silly. You both are," she whispered faintly.

-

_Now_ Lucy was getting worried.

She tried not to let it show too much, to not trouble Happy any further, since the poor cat wasn't doing so well either. The blonde nervously walked up and down the living room, biting on her lower lip and playing with her fingers; so much for trying to not let it show. She just couldn't help it – it was late, Natsu was not back yet and she was insanely worried.

"I'll be back in the evening, he said. My ass," she mumbled with something between concern and anger. "It's past midnight and there's still no Natsu far and wide."

Happy gave a soft moan that made her pause, wondering why he had been so quiet over the past few minutes. She couldn't help a sigh and a smile when she turned her head around to find out the reason behind his reticence – there he sat, that little blue feline, trying so hard to stay awake though his eyes kept falling shut.

Smiling warmly, she walked over to him, gently nudging his arm with her fingers. "Hey, go to bed, stupid. You're practically sleeping anyway."

Jerking awake from his little dozing, he flinched a bit, quickly shaking his head. "No way!" he insisted stubbornly. "I'm waiting 'till Natsu comes home."

"Look at me, would you," Lucy sighed, pointing at her head, and Happy blinked at her. "This is the face of one hell of a worried girlfriend. I'll never be able to sleep for even one second if he isn't home. You can bet your ass that I'll wait right here until he opens that damn door."

Happy knitted up his brows, indignantly glancing up at her. "You have to promise to wake me when he gets back."

"Pinky swear," she grinned at him, holding her smallest finger out to him. Happy nodded his okay and grabbed her pinky with his whole paw, seeing as he _had_ no pinky, and then jumped off of his spot on the couch.

"Night, Happy."

"Don't fall asleep on the floor or something."

Lucy grimaced. "Who'd do that?"

The little cat stopped at the doorframe of the bedroom, standing with his back to her as he spoke, "It's… it's really nice to have Lucy here. If I were alone this year again, I'd be twice as worried." His voice was quaking a little. "Y-you know, it was never _this_ late."

She felt her heart twitch very painfully upon hearing that, but she tried not to let it affect her too much. Just because it took Natsu a little longer this time to get home didn't mean that necessarily something happened. It didn't mean that he wasn't going to come back. She had to believe in this, she just had to.

Smiling faintly, she softly told him, "Come on, don't make that face. Natsu will be here any minute now. Definitely."

"How do you know that?"

Lucy's smile faded, replaced by a baffled frown. "… Huh?"

"How do you know that?" Happy repeated, still facing away. "How do you know Igneel didn't come back this time and took Natsu with him?"

"Because Natsu wouldn't go."

Happy slowly turned around, brows knitting up and sniffling. Lucy smiled at him, very reassuringly and encouraging and it immediately relieved him a little. It even made him believe her.

"He'd never, ever," Lucy said, almost forcefully, "Just disappear and leave us behind. Ever. That's just not the kind of person he is. And you know that."

Suddenly, she was grinning a bit foolishly.

"So don't ever say that kind of thing again," she warned half-heartedly.

And Happy just smiled. "So you've been scared of that too, huh?" And without giving the stunned girl a chance to reply, he vanished inside the bedroom.

Lucy allowed herself a strained sigh when he was gone, sliding down alongside the wall behind her to a sitting position and letting her head fall on her arms. From somewhere nearby she heard a clock ticking, louder than she could bear.

_Come home, Natsu._

She looked up at the clock. Twenty past midnight. Never had time gone by so slowly.

_Come home._

-

When the lock on the front door started rattling at three in the morning, Lucy was still sitting on her spot beside the door against the wall, not daring to move or to breathe. And then, the door was opened and Natsu came inside the pitch-black living room, and she felt like crying, from anger, relief, disappointment and sympathy, hit him, scold him, yet she did neither.

Instead, she just sat there, silently, and simply gazing up at him, watching him run a hand through his hair and closing the door behind him. Waiting to be noticed. Gasping soundlessly when she heard him sniff and saw him rub over his eyes, instantly knowing he had been crying.

That idiot. That stupid, silly idiot.

And suddenly, he turned around to her, more by mere coincidence than anything else. Somehow, it surprised her that he wasn't alarmed or startled at seeing a figure sitting in the dark by the door; instead he stared at her for a long time, wordlessly, until he turned away.

"What are you still doing up, Luce?" he mumbled hoarsely, trying to hide the dampness on his cheeks.

She kept quiet, watching him fidget a little in embarrassment.

He gave a hollow chuckle, scratching the back of his head, still looking away. "I mean, sorry I got home so late. Didn't mean to make you worry. I had some things to do…"

Lucy just looked at him with something between sadness and incomprehension, and then she slowly, very weakly straightened up to walk the few steps separating her from him. She took a moment, some heartbeats long, to stand there right before him, then gently reached for his hand, while her other one touched his face to make him look at her.

Natsu immediately squirmed beneath her touch. "No, Lucy, not right now, _please_-"

"I'm not going anywhere."

His eyes widened when he whirled around to her at last, staring at her in a mixture of confusion and total surprise. Lucy looked awfully determined and serious, a sight that he always found incredibly fascinating.

Arching a brow, he faintly laughed once more, "What the hell? That's so random-"

Lucy narrowed her eyes, but not for a scowl or a glare; it looked sad somehow. "I'll always be right here with you," she told him sincerely. "I will always, always, always be here. I will never ever go away, Natsu."

Slowly beginning to understand, Natsu closed his eyes for a sigh, lowering his head a bit. "Why are you telling me this?" he mumbled.

"Because I don't think you know." She placed her hands on his chest, leaning her forehead against the spot where his heart was. "I don't think you know that I could never leave you. And I don't think you know that I'm here for you, always. Always, Natsu. For anything and everything."

Lucy looked up at him, her hands wandering from his chest to his face, touching his cheeks and feeling the faint moisture still there. He was desperately trying to look away as her fingers softly grazed up and down his face.

"Look at me, damn it," she ordered quietly.

Funny enough, he did. Maybe because he couldn't ever deny her anything.

She gave a sad smile. "There's not only you anymore, you idiot. There's an _us_ now. You shouldn't be out there doing your own thing," she told him softly. "No crying all by yourself. We're in this together now. S-so…"

Natsu squeezed his eyes shut with guilt when her trembling voice died off and she gave a heartbreaking sob that had all his insides clench until it mentally hurt. When he opened his eyes again, there were tears falling down her cheeks, slowly, but very painfully.

"So, w-why?" she sobbed, her hands trembling as they sank down to rest on his chest again. "W-why won't you talk to me? Why won't you let me be there for you? Don't you think I'm scared, too? Don't you think I lost someone one the same day seven years ago, too?"

She weakly punched against his chest.

"Damn you, Natsu. We should be crying together on this damn day!"

And suddenly, Natsu was completely calm, sighing softly and wrapping his arms around her lithe frame. Lucy sniffled against his chest, knitting her brows almost indignantly as he brought her closer, held her tighter, like he was afraid she would vanish into thin air any minute now. And then he said something for the first time that she would have never thought to hear him say after all this, after a day such as this one, in a moment like this.

"I love you."

Lucy felt her eyes widen at his unexpected confession, slowly moving her head to look blankly up at him. "… W-what?" she whispered faintly.

She was sure Natsu had never looked so serious about something. "Even more than about Igneel, I thought about you today. And how it felt so damn wrong being there without having you with me." His voice was causing shivers to run down her spine. "The whole time, all I could ever think about was how much better I'd feel with you just sitting there next to me, holding your hand and knowing you're here, and…"

His voice trailed off as he hugged her even closer, burying his head between her neck and shoulder, and breathing her scent in deeply – lilies and something fruity.

"I - I just love you." Lucy once again felt her entire body become covered by goose bumps, caused by his low whisper and his words. "I'd be going insane if it wasn't for you. I'd be lonely and a mess, and… and I love you."

Lucy felt her lips curl upward to a smile as his lips trailed kisses over her cheek, wondering how just a simple thing like this could make everything terrible completely fade away. And when Natsu finally smiled himself, she thought that maybe one day, if they were together, the seventh of July wouldn't hurt as badly anymore.

"I love you more," she said softly.

And then, Natsu truly grinned. "That's not possible."

**tbc**


End file.
